So, it is the end of the year. Goodbye 2008 and hello 2009. I wonder what it will bring. I am hoping for something good, nothing too much but something exciting. I know what I want for myself, I want a healthier lifestyle, to be fit, have more motivation and a bit of money saved. I want to start trying to save for a holiday, maybe some travelling on my own, I haven't done that in a while. I may also get some heating for my house because I swear it would be warmer living in a cave near Santa!

OK, as for the last year, I don't think I have had any major ups and downs. I didn't have a job for nine months but I do have one now and have made plenty of friends there. I turned 25, which we all knows means I am now a quarter of a century old. That is quite a long time for being on this earth even if it felt longer than that.

I got to go on holiday for a week this October rather than for just two days, and it was fun. Holidays always go to fast as it is but it was still jolly. I now have money to play with, which is a bad thing as I keep buying lots of stuff and I now have to pay rent but that was bound to happen and it is quite cheap. I do still have all my bills yet to pay off but I am getting to it. Hopefully, I will have paid a chunk of it by the end of 2009.

Talking of 2009, I plan to be doing an English degree sometime in it. Hopefully in February but maybe October, one of them anyway. I hope that 2009 will bring many happy times and not many unhappy one's.

I think that is enough for the remembrance of 2008. We have to look ahead and leave the past alone. We cannot change what has happened but we can make the future count.

Have a good one and happy new year to all.

Paula

So this weekend I had a friend from Uni come up and stay. It was only overnight but we haven't seen each other since February so even two days was good. She (Lesley) had not really been to London that much so we went to the Natural History Museum. I like museums so I didn't mind going, I do prefer the Science Museum though!

Anyway, the weather was rubbish, it was pouring down all day so it was good that we were insdie. It took over an hour to get there though as I live on the otherside of the city. Generally, people tend to doze off or read books and things but we managed to have enough conversation to last us all the way.

Lesley likes Dinosaurs so that was what we went to see first of all. Their were a lot of people in the museum and the Dinosaur thing took ages to get round. I like Dinosaurs so I didn't get that bored but you can only look at certain things for a length of time before they all look the same. Anyway, we then went on to the stuffed mammals and the human department. All the things about senses and stuff. They had a human brain in a jar. We couldn't tell if it was real enough but it was in yellow juice so I reckon someone donated themselves years ago to the Museum so people could look at it.

The animals was fun. You got to see what a Dodo looked like, even though you can see them in books, but I don't think books do things like that justice. You really need to see something to believe it is round, big, fat or whatever. Otherwise people are like 'Yeah, a purple toad ... right then'. Oh, you know what I mean!

After that, we had been there for a few hours and we were getting hungry. I wanted to see the thing about Volcanoes and then we decided we would go have something to eat. The Volcanoes were fun. I got to touch bits of rock, which I found really fun. I don't think Lesley saw it that way but what does she know anyway! We then got to have a look about Earthquakes. A bit of the floor moved, giving an example about strong one was a few years ago near Japan. Was a bit scary really.

On our way out, we ventured into the shop and Lesley bought a stuffed Stegasaurus. I was going to buy a mini Volcanoe and a Teradactyal (sp?) but my stars said the other day that I should be careful and perhaps not spend money like I had millions. Basically, it said to act like you had no money apart from to pay bills. I was good and said no to buying anything silly.

It was still raining when we left the Museum but we went to Leicester Square anyway and went to Pizza Hut. Leicester Square had a funfair and was full of Santa's. It was very weird indeed. We decided it must have been a flash mob. There was no other reason for them to be there.

I found a picture of it from Flickr:

Photo from here

Anyway, the whole day was fun but cold and wet.

Sunday, Lesley spent the day playing with my niece then we went to Romford so she could go into HobbyCraft. She was obsessed about that shop. It is quite expensive really but fun none the less. After that, she caught the train home.

Overall, I had fun, got to see my friend and got to go to a Museum. I hope it won't take so long to do it again.

Paula

So, it has been a while but let me catch you up a bit. In the last few month since posting, I have:

• Turned 25
• Been to Somerset for a week
• Got a job (hurrah!) in a college as a Librarian
• Got some money (Hurrah part 2)
• Taken part in NaNoWriMo and failed...again!

Yeah, a lot has happened. The big thing being the job. I have been there now for about two months and I enjoy it. The early mornings are still doing me in but I hope that will stop happening soon. As for NaNo, yeah, I sucketh at it!

OK, so NaNoWriMo, for anyone who is reading this doesn't know. It is an event that happens throughout November where you have a goal of 50,000 words to write. Most people write novels or the starts of one as it is easier to build up so many words rather than doing short stories. I didn't do so well really. I didn't even get to half way but I got over 22k, which for me is a personal achievement and so that isn't so bad. It would have been nice to get over 50k but maybe next year instead. I have taken part for four years now and it is fun. The other people who take part are a great help to keep you going and you get to cheer them on too. There is also a new one called JaNoWriMo but that is unofficial but basically the idea is the same except you can carry on the novel from NaNo. In NaNo itself, the idea you have, has to be one you haven't started yet so that you can get more words out. Starting before November 1st is also shunned upon.

Anyway, hopefully, now that I have this job, I can start to buy stuff, like christmas presents for people and stuff for me, which I tell you, has been the worst part of having no money. You can't buy anything you want whereas now, I can generally afford stuff even though I should save up for holidays and other things.

So, in general, to sum up, the last few months have been...better than before.

Seeya next time.

Paula